Distance
by instraightjackets
Summary: It's months after the Kamina fiasco and Stiles has been trying to distance himself from the drama of the pack. But when they realize what he's doing, the pack, specifically Derek, attempt to win him back.
1. Running Away

The air turned white in front of Stiles with each labored breath he took. He was on his eighth lap around the Beacon Hills High School track on an early Sunday morning and he didn't plan on stopping until he reached ten at least.

Stiles' recent attempt at anything resembling a healthy lifestyle came after seeing members of the pack in various stages of undress. He was feeling especially inadequate after the chaos that ensued two months ago involving mystical creatures of revenge and the fickle nature of high school relationships.

Things were getting dangerous, not as if they weren't before, but now the wolves were dealing with a new threat. A pack of Alphas who seemed to have no problem using violence. After Erica and Boyd showed up at Derek's door later that same night bloodied and carrying a message, everyone was on high alert.

Scott had reluctantly taken up training with Derek and his wolves. Allison's father had offered to help, however Derek had never been one to trust easily especially not hunters with who he and his uncle shared a blood-stained history.

Stiles couldn't blame him, but he did wish that Derek considered Chris Argent's offer more carefully before automatically shutting him down. After Jackson, Derek had not turned anyone else, it was much too risky especially after it all went wrong last time.

Stiles was making a few changes of his own, one of which included distancing himself from the pack, which basically was the same as distancing himself from Scott now that he spent most of his free time with them. Stiles tried not to be jealous, but it was difficult gradually spending less and less time with someone who had always been there.

He couldn't afford to put himself through that much danger again. Stiles no longer wanted to see the look of confusion and concern on his father's face every time he failed to show up for dinner, or each time the school called, or he had a new "lacrosse injury". They were both tired of the deception.

Stiles cleared another lap, leaving one more until he reached his goal of that morning. His chest burned but he pushed through it.

Stiles and Lydia were closer now. They spoke occasionally and shared a lunch table at least.

However Stiles couldn't boast being close to anyone in the pack, except for maybe Isaac. He seemed to hate Stiles the least and didn't get off on shoving him into things like Jackson, Erica and Derek seemed to.

As Stiles finished the tenth lap, he spotted a couple of figures just behind the bleachers. Honestly what was it with people in this town and lurking? No one trusts lurkers. It was a lesson that desperately needed to be learned especially by the people in this town.

Stiles ignored the strange visitors, thankful that his workout would account for his increased heartbeat and heavy breathing that could also be read as fear. He finished off the tenth lap and jogged to gather his water bottle from the sidelines. Whoever it was: friend, acquaintance or enemy, was probably fast and able to catch Stiles if he took off running to his jeep. It wasn't until he reached the car door that the mystery couple decided to show themselves.

Scott and Isaac. He should have suspected, they were the only two who knew about his recent fascination with getting healthy.

"So do you guys often creep around high schools or is this a recent hobby?"

Scott gave his familiar slack-jawed smile as Isaac chuckled.

"No we were just checking if you were free to hang out," Scott said.

Stiles leaned against the car taking a sip of water, "What are you guys doing?"

"Just playing video games, and probably pizza before we have to train with Derek later,"

Stiles was used to saying no to suggested plans by now so he barely thought about it this time before telling Scott no, "I can't, man. Sorry."

"Why not?" He sounded upset, Scott never was one to control his emotions.

"I just can't. Promised my dad I'll make dinner, I was actually going to the grocery store after this."

Scott wrinkled his nose, "Smelling like that?"

Stiles laughed, "It's the grocery store no one there cares what I smell like."

Isaac suddenly cut in, "You've been very busy lately, Stiles."

It was a simple enough sentence, but anyone would have heard the double meaning behind those words.

Stiles met Isaac's eyes, "Yeah, I know." They had a standoff for a minute, neither of them turning away as Scott looked between the two confused.

"Anyways," Scott finally said, "If you can, swing by Derek's tonight."

"Lydia's coming by, it's been a while since everyone's gotten together like this," Isaac added.

The two said their goodbyes and turned to leave. Stiles watched them walk away as he considered their offer. He only ever saw them at school these days, but he didn't think they would catch on this soon. Isaac was quicker than the others, though. He was an observe-silently type of guy.

Stiles got in his car and drove home.

It was 10 pm and Stiles was doing what he always did on Sunday nights, struggle to finish multiple assignments while simultaneously watching movies on Netflix. It was a difficult task, but not an impossible one.

He made the decision hours ago not to go over to Derek's. He needed to stay firm in his resolution not to get involved again. Stiles knew Scott would be upset, but eventually he would get used to not having Stiles around.


	2. A Realization

"What about the nightmares, Stiles? Have there been any recently?"

Stiles sat in the counselor's office at school during his usual Monday morning appointment. It was early, half an hour before school actual started.

"None, not for a few weeks actually. They usually only come when I stay up too late," he said.

'Or if I've been threatened by a werewolf that day,' he thought.

She nodded and scribbled on her board, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

"And how are your friends? Are you getting along with everyone okay?"

Stiles shrugged, he was never comfortable with this topic, he knew better than to let anything slip about, but it was still too dangerous topic to navigate.

"They're fine I guess, I haven't really been hanging out with anyone lately. I'm more focused on school and my dad."

She looked at him, unable to hide the concern.

"Focusing on those things are important Stiles, but cutting off social interaction with friends isn't a healthy way to do it."

"Yeah, well…"

"Look, we'll end here the bells about to ring. But make sure you talk to your friends. You have to consider how they feel too. They've probably noticed something's wrong."

"Okay, thanks. You know what teach? You should probably consider getting some comfty chairs in here. I really think it'll help speed up the healing process."

The woman smiled, "thank you Stiles I'll bring that up at the next staff meeting."

Stiles grabbed his bag and let himself out of the office, failing to notice Lydia across the hall.

The living room in the dilapidated house Derek was staying in was slowly becoming crowded with unruly teenagers that afternoon. Werewolf or not, hormones and angst made up the majority of their personalities.

"You really need to get more chairs in this dump," Jackson said loudly enough for Derek to hear, he knew better than to say something like that to his face.

Derek made no response over at the wall he was leaning on, only glared at the muscular teen, his eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. The Alpha problem remained unresolved and he could barely handle the task of training the fools in front of him. He was waiting now for his uncle to arrive, he was bringing fresh meat. Maybe the wolves would learn better if they had a treat at the end of each lesson.

Lydia was one of the last to arrive as she walked in, hair bouncing and confidence filling each step, and went straight Jackson to give him a greeting kiss. As she settled in his arms she turned to Scott who was sitting on the floor, arm wrestling with Boyd.

"Do you know why Stiles is in counseling?" she asked.

The silence in the room was abrupt as everyone turned to look at her, confusion filling their faces. Derek looked over too, he noticed recently that the reckless teen wasn't around nearly as much as he used to be. Not that he was complaining of course, but Stiles had managed to carve out his own niche within the pack before he suddenly became absent. At meetings, training sessions, everything really.

Scott sat up shaking his head, "What? Stiles isn't in counseling."

Lydia raised an eyebrow, translation: are you telling me I'm wrong? "I saw him leaving the counselors office this morning."

"He has been a little weird lately," Isaac added from his spot next to Erica.

Erica shrugged, "He's always weird."

"No, like _quiet_ weird," Isaac retorted.

"Even at lunch he doesn't say much," Boyd added. It seemed everyone had noticed the change in Stiles recently, it just wasn't drastic enough to mention before today.

"So? There are tons of reasons why he could've been in there. Trust me Lydia, if Stiles was in counseling I would know," Scott insisted. With that the conversation was dropped.

Lydia shrugged her shoulders, appearing to let it go. She was planning on having a talk with Stiles in the very near future, his distant behavior had not escaped her notice. He was calmer yes, but lonely, even amongst friends.

Scott looked troubled as he settled back on the floor. Lately, he wasn't sure what was normal for Stiles, their friendship had been strained even before the Kamina situation months ago.

Derek was worried, what if Stiles had been…over-sharing with this counselor. Telling her things about the pack and his various near-death experiences that were better kept to himself? Way too many people in Beacon Hills knew the pack's little secret as it was. He sighed and slipped out of the room, his uncle could handle the meeting today. He had to pay Stiles Stilinski a visit.


	3. Inquiries

It was 4 o'clock and Stiles was cleaning his room. Recently, navigating over the mounds of clothes that decorated the floor had almost become a game for him, so he was reluctant to ruin it all when his father realized he had a blossoming hoarder on his hands and demanded Stiles clean.

Sorting clothes into two piles, bad smelling and good, Stiles blasted AWOL Nation and danced embarrassingly about the room. He hadn't meant for the mess to get so out of hand, but lately his room was where he spent all his time when he wasn't at school or running. Eventually the mess piled up. Through the loud music, Stiles heard banging on the front door downstairs. He frowned, "who could that be?"

Stiles made his way downstairs and looked through the peephole, immediately jumping back when he saw leather-clad Derek glaring back at him. What was he doing here? It took a second for him to compose himself before opening the door.

He cracked it open, "we don't want any mister," he said as seriously as possible.

Shaking his head Derek pushed the door in and made his way into the house, "very funny."

Stiles began laughing and allowed him into the house, but quickly quieted down when he realized how uncomfortable Derek looked standing in his hall.

"So?" Stiles said. This wasn't the first time Derek was in the Stilinski home. However the last time he was over he was a fugitive hiding from the police, so naturally he hid in the sheriff's son's room. This particular visit was unexpected, but Stiles found it was not unwelcomed. A part of him was actually happy to see the perpetually grumpy Alpha.

Derek began speaking but was cut short by Stiles, "wait," he said holding up both hands, "Let's go upstairs." Without waiting for a response, he made his way past Derek and ran up the stairs, his bare feet making more noise than was necessary on the way up. The invitation caught Derek off guard but he followed anyway.

Pausing just outside the door, Derek stared into the bedroom, "your room is disgusting, Stiles."

"I like to think of this as a no-judgment zone," Stiles replied waving his arms about dramatically.

"There's a difference between judging and stating a fact," he said as he took a cautious step into the room, he peered into a corner "is that broken glass?"

Stiles looked over, "I don't know, maybe. Here, sit!" He said while clearing a nearby chair by pushing a pile of textbooks onto the floor.

Derek looked at the chair, his eyes widening slightly at the fear of the unknown. Stiles rolled his eyes and pushed it towards him, "It won't bite."

"The fact that you have to assure me of that is a problem in itself," Derek mumbled as he grabbed the chair and sat down slowly.

Stiles watched the entire scene while holding back laughter. Turning his back on Derek, Stiles continued sorting his clothes.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked as he threw several socks into the bad pile.

Derek followed the socks with his eyes, "You haven't been around much lately."

"No," Stiles tone of voice had changed, hardened almost. He was being defensive without knowing why.

"I heard you were seeing a therapist."

Stiles paused in his sorting for only a moment before continuing, his voice sounded strained, "A counselor,"

"Right,"

"So?"

"So, what have you been telling her?"

Stiles turned around, his reddening face betraying his anger, "I'm sorry but who told you I was seeing a counselor?"

"That's not important,"

"The hell it isn't!" His voice rising. Who was Derek to come into is home and ask him these questions.

"Look, I just need to know if you've been telling her anything about the pack."

"You have some nerve. It's none of your damn business what I talk to her about, but if it's "pack secrets" you're worried about, don't. I'm not an idiot."

"I never said-"

"Honestly, unless I wanted to end up in the psych-ward I wouldn't tell her about werewolves or alphas or any of the other bullshit you guys are involved with."

Derek just stared at him. It was shocking, this unknown angry side of Stiles. Up until now, Derek was only used to happy and annoying Stiles.

"Right, sorry," Derek stood up, pushing the chair aside. It rolled and hit the wall making a loud noise in tense silence that filled the room after Stile's outburst. He turned to leave the room, suddenly regretting the impulsive decision to come by.


	4. Rebuilding

Well that was a disaster. Stiles sat on the bed after Derek left. He didn't mean to blow up like that, but he had been repressing a lot of things lately and it chose to come out at the wrong moment. What was more surprising was Derek's reaction. There was no head-butting, no wall-slamming, no threats to Stile's life.

Stiles was unsure of how to deal with this calmer side of Derek. In the past, he would resent the werewolf for the amount of power he had over everyone, his Alpha-status. He had never taken the threats seriously but it was still rude.

Now that Derek decided not to abuse that power Stiles didn't know how to react. One thing he did know was that an apology needed to be made. He began putting on his sneakers, prepared to drive over to that creepy house in the woods and make Derek hear him out…and then the door slammed shut downstairs. Stiles looked over at the clock buried under days old dirty plates and sighed, his dad was home early. He wouldn't be able to go out tonight, not with dinner uncooked and his room in this sorry state. Stiles would go first thing in the morning.

He got back to work on his room, attempting to look busy for his father who was bound to check in on his progress any minute now. But Stiles couldn't seem to get the image of Derek sitting on his chair out of his mind.

The Camaro screeched to a halt at the side of the road. Derek sat back, going over the confrontation with Stiles in his head.

"I should've snapped his rude neck," he said to himself, but there was no feeling behind his words. Now he felt regretful about his attempts to get an answer out of Stiles. But there were still so many questions, why was Stiles seeing a counselor and where the hell were his friends? How could they not know, especially Scott of all people.

Derek hit the steering wheel, frustrated. Maybe it was a mistake to leave like that, but Stiles wasn't a member of his pack therefore he was not responsible for whatever was happening in this kid's life.

Derek started the car and drove home, trying to push Stiles out of his head.

Stiles woke the next morning with a much cleaner room and a shockingly positive attitude. He planned it all last night, he would make his was to the Hale house, or as like to call it 'the lair', and make his apologies to Derek.

Stiles became nervous as he drove up to the house. He began seeing holes in his plan as he realized that the pack may be there and they may know about his counseling sessions and he wasn't in the mood to answer any questions.

He was walking up to the front of the house when the door suddenly opened, it was Scott wide-eyed and excited.

"Where have you been?" he asked rushing out like a mad man.

Stiles put up his arms defensively, "Whoa there, what are you talking about."

"Have you been telling me everything?" Specificity was not one of Scott's qualities.

"And I repeat, what are you talking about?"

Scott took a long hard look at Stiles before he spoke again, "Lydia told us you're seeing a counselor," he said quietly.

Ah, so it was Lydia, he should have guessed. It was difficult to get anything past her.

Face unreadable Stiles gave a small smile, "Don't worry about it, it's nothing. Where's Derek?"

"What do you want with Derek?"

"I just need to ask him something."

"Oh-" Scott paused, he was confused and knew Stiles was lying but didn't want to push, "I think he's in the kitchen."

"Got it," Stiles began to walk past Scott but was stopped.

"Come and find me later, okay? We should talk."

Stiles attempted to laugh off the sudden seriousness of the conversation, "What, you need more advice about your love life?"

"No," Scott said simply before turning and walking off.

An uneasy feeling settled over Stiles as he made his way into the house. He dreaded speaking to Scott about the problems he'd been having. He didn't want anyone to think he was crazy, at least not any more than usual.

As always in the Hale house, there was the faint smell of burnt wood and the obvious lack of decorative effort. It took opening a few doors and peering into eerily empty rooms before Stiles stumbled into the kitchen and found Derek. He did not look up when Stiles entered the room but instead made the finishing touches on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the counter.

"Oh, hey!" Stiles' voice suddenly got louder. Derek said nothing, only took a bite out of his sandwich. He finally looked up and stared directly at Stiles as he chewed. It was a little disarming to see Derek in such a normal setting as opposed to what he was used to with the blood and the claws.

"Right…well I know you must be wondering what I'm doing in your house," he continued, but Stiles was really wondering was why the serious werewolf-man wasn't blinking.

Derek raised an eyebrow at that statement, obviously not deeming the situation important enough to respond.

"Which, by the way, is basically a maze. You should put maps up! You know the kind with the arrow that says 'you are here'" Stiles laughed nervously, hoping that his heartbeat only sounded that loud to his own ears.

Still nothing. Derek had heard Stiles nosily make his way through the house minutes before and heard when his jeep pulled up. The boy was anything but subtle.

"Anyways, I just wanted to apologize. I was a little rude yesterday and I didn't mean to get upset. So, sorry." Stiles exhaled loudly, glad to finally get that out.

Derek finished his sandwich, still staring at Stiles as he licked peanut butter off his fingers. Silently he turned his back put his dish in the sink. Unsure of what to do next, Stiles sat down at the counter and looked at Derek's back, admiring the way he filled out his t-shirt.

"What, you're not going to make me a sandwich?"

Glad that his back was turned, Derek grinned and opened the cupboard to grab the peanut butter.


	5. Giving Way

At last a reaction from Derek, Stiles smiled. This was a lot more relaxed then he'd been in a while. These past few months, each reaction was a forced imitation of normalcy especially after he stopped trying to force himself back into a world where he knew he never really belonged. But now here he sat, waiting for the big-bad Alpha to make him PB&J. At least that's what he thought when he saw Derek reach for the jar in the shelf. The next thing he knew Derek was throwing the jar at him without so much of a warning.

"Make it yourself."

Stiles smiled and stood to get the bread as Derek watched, a part of him felt bad at having let Stiles ramble on like that, he should have been the one making amends. He knew Stiles was having a hard time and showed up at his home unannounced anyway.

"Look, you didn't have to apologize. I shouldn't have pried like that."

Stiles nodded, "Let's just leave it at both of us were wrong."

"Fine." Derek took up his usual position of leaning against something, trying not to laugh as Stiles ate his sandwich.

It was strange, his feelings towards Stiles lately. He used to be the only one who could calm an irrationally angry Derek with his rambling logic constantly pumped with humor. Everyone felt his absence these past few months despite the fact no one cared to admit it. Even Peter asked from time to time 'where's the loud one,' during pack meetings. Things were heavy when Stiles was gone.

The sound of the door opening and the loud footsteps that followed surprised them. The look on Stiles face was one of uncertainty as he looked back and forth between Derek and the kitchen door. He was suddenly regretting his decision to linger in the house after he said what he had to, but Stiles tended to forgot his problems in the moments he spent with Derek. He had yet to consider why.

The pack made their way into the room, the shock clear on their faces when they spotted Stiles sitting casually at the counter as if he was supposed to be there. Derek said nothing, only watched as the pack struggled to find the right reaction. Stiles had been a topic of discussion amongst them since last night and none of them wanted to approach him first.

Jackson stood slightly apart from the rest, already glaring at Stiles although he had yet to open his mouth. Erica seemed indifferent but was the first to react as she walked over and opened the fridge, "Haven't seen you in a while, Stilinski."

Stiles let out a breath of relief glad that she didn't bring up the counseling, "Yeah, I've been busy," he said with a smile.

During that time Boyd had quietly made his way over to the seat next to Stiles, "Have you been here long?"

Stiles jumped and turned to look at him, "Nope, just stopped by to eat all of Derek's food, no big deal."

Boyd looked at Derek curiously who ignored him and turned around to wash his plate, "Oh, well you should stop by more often. We miss you."

Jackson snorted from his spot in the kitchen, "Yeah, right."

Rolling his eyes, Isaac walked over to Stiles' other side, "We were just about to watch a movie, you should stay."

"I don't know if I should, I really only just meant to stop by for a moment."

Erica spoke up, "Oh please, honestly what else do you have to do."

Caught off guard, Stiles was unable to come up with a sensible lie on the spot.

"Nothing, I guess…"  
"Good we're watching Constantine."

"Odd choice."

"Lydia chose."

"And where is she?"

"She's coming by later."

Stiles nodded, surprised at himself for accepting their invitation to hang out so readily. The counselor told him to stop shutting his friends out, perhaps he would listen to her this time.

"Awesome, then you can make the popcorn," Erica threw a box at him.

"Only if Derek helps," Stiles said standing up. Derek reached out for the box silently as the pack watched their interaction. They had always noticed that Stiles was the only one who could reach out to Derek in anyway. It was a part of the reason they enjoyed having him around, everyone laughed a bit more.

"Move over," Derek said giving Stiles a playful push. Stiles laughed and tried even harder to get in the way of the microwave.

"Cute," a new voice said behind them. Everyone in the kitchen turned to look, Lydia had arrived, "You two should get together more often."

Stiles moved a few inches to the left, distancing himself from Derek who looked at him, confused.

"Hey, I'm staying for the movie, why Constantine?"

"Oh, it was just there. She turned to the pack, "Let's go to the living room."

Stiles begun to follow before Lydia stopped him, "Help him with the popcorn," she whispered, gesturing to Derek. His shoulders were slumped as he took packs of microwavable popcorn from the box.

"Oh, right."

Lydia left but Stiles didn't move from his spot, just looked on as Derek struggled to find the right microwave settings. Derek knew he was behind him, and did his best to ignore the feeling that ran up his spine at the sound of Stiles' approaching footsteps.


	6. An Attempt

With both hands full, Derek brought his leg up and turned the handle of the door with his foot successfully opening the door as an amused Stiles followed close behind admiring the extra agility that came with being supernatural.

"Well aren't we flexible," he said under his breath.

"Jealous?" Derek asked. He had slowed his pace after dropping some popcorn behind him on the way to the living room.

"A little, I feel like I could do so much more with my life if I had the abilities of a gymnast."

"I'm sure," Derek said. He was always holding back laughter around Stiles since it was not in his nature to appear carefree.

Their conversation was of a playful nature and both of their words held a barely their double meaning. Everyone was already seated in the living room when the two appeared with the snacks with the television already blasting the kind of music one would expect to hear in a film about angels and demons.

Stiles sat down on the couch under the window and was about to call Derek over when Scott and Isaac situated themselves on either side of him.

"So you're actually staying this time?" Scott asked as he took a huge handful of popcorn from the bowl in Stiles' hands.

"Surprise," Stiles smiled but didn't look at Scott, he watched regretfully as Derek grabbed one of the wooden chairs to sit on. It looked uncomfortable, but if it was Derek didn't show it.

"Alright everyone shut up the movie's starting," Lydia said from her spot on the floor comfortably leaning against Jackson's chest.

Everyone heeded her command and went silent.

The movie night had ended without a hitch. Popcorn was made and screams were had by all. The possession scene was fun for no one and Stiles could have sworn he saw Derek close his eyes across the room from his spot on the couch.

Stiles had looked over at him a few times too many during the movie, eager to see his reaction to a scary scene or the awkward chemistry between the main leads. But towards the end he watched as Derek got up and quietly made his way out of the room. Stiles thought about following, but with Isaac asleep on his shoulder and Scott upset with him, he figured it would be best to stay still.

After saying his goodbyes, Stiles got up to leave with Scott, they still hadn't spoken.

"Yeah, I don't know what I would do if you guys were still living in a school bus, I was about to call social service on all your asses," Stiles said laughingly to Scott as they walked over to his jeep.

Scott made no reply and stayed uncharacteristically silent.

"Look man," Stiles stopped walking and turned to his friend, "I know you're worried. Don't be. I'm handling it."

Scott looked at him, the disbelief obvious "You won't even tell me what it is you're handling. Seriously, when was the last time we hung out?"

"We just did-"

"Not like this, Stiles. Like we used to. _What's wrong_?"

Stiles stayed silent and looked at the ground. He wanted to tell Scott everything about the nightmares and panic attacks but he couldn't bring himself to, at least not yet so he just shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was drive Scott further away with his unwillingness to confide, but he could do nothing else at that point. This entire day had been exactly what he'd been avoiding for months and he was worried at how much he enjoyed everyone's company again.

Noticing Stiles' reaction Scott toned things down, "Look, I'm sorry I just want things to be normal between us again. I know the pack stuff gets in the way, but you're basically a part of that too!"

Stiles wished it was as simple as Scott was making it sound. Nodding his head he looked at Scott, "Yeah, of course."

Glad that Stiles was agreeing, Scott pulled him into a rough hug, "I've missed you, dude."

Stiles smiled and patted him on the back, "Let's get out of here."

Their conversation was far from over but at least the drive to Scott's house wasn't awkward. After dropping Scott off, Derek came to mind again. Stiles wondered where the brooding ball of fur had wondered off too.

Truth of the matter was Derek had grew tired of the movie ten minutes in and only stayed as long as he did to enjoy feeling he got when he saw Stiles looking at him. Like a tiny jolt in the pit of his stomach. It was when he realized what he was doing that Derek left the room and promised himself he would not entertain such feelings.

A casual obsrver would have caught on to what was happening between Stiles and Derek. But one was in denial and the other was hesitant. With each word and coy look across the room, the potential grew. For what? Neither of them knew.


	7. Books

Stiles was still riding that wave of happiness left over from his visit to Derek's place that weekend, so much that he thought it was okay to miss his counseling appointment Monday morning. She would probably send him a concerned email which Stiles would just brush off by telling her that he woke up late, a totally normal young adult thing to do.

The mistake Stiles seemed to be making, however, was the fact that he thought he only needed to see his counselor when the depression was creeping in on his every thought, when in reality help was something he would need for a while.

He greeted Scott in the hall enthusiastically before they walked to their first class. Although glad that Stiles seemed back to his old self, Scott was still worried. He knew his friend was hurting a lot more than he was willing to admit, but Stiles was the type to suppress dark memories and hide his pain and now the constant grin and sarcasm that worked so well for him in the past was slipping away. Everyone saw it but no one was confident enough to approach the situation or deal with it.

"What's up?" Scott asked as they walked down the hall to chemistry class.

"Nothing dude," Stiles patted Scott on the back as they fell into easy conversation. The rest of the day went on in such a manner, Stiles seemed himself again, smiling and poking fun at the wolves during lunch.

But by the end of the day, Stiles found himself exhausted. It was difficult keeping up the charade of happiness and as the day wore on, he felt the now familiar darkness infringing upon his mind. The moment he got to his newly clean room, it all came back. An overwhelming pain that was almost physical.

Stiles tried to stay busy by making dinner and doing homework, but by 7:30 that was done and even the constant distraction that _is_ the internet proved mundane.

Stiles left the house at 8 and got in his jeep, driving a quick 15 minutes to the local library, the one that stayed open until midnight because Bill, the librarian, was something of an optimist and believed libraries would one day make a comeback. He was a nice guy although no one was sure of his real name or background, he'd always just been The Librarian.

When Stiles walked in he gave a quick head-nod to the now greying Bill and walked straight back to where the classics were, Austen, Bronte, Vonnegut. It calmed Stiles to look at the covers, feel and perhaps skim the first few pages of the great works. So much more subdued and immediate than the YouTube videos he would usually find himself watching at this time. There was no rush when it came to books, no guilt or feeling that you could be doing something better with the time you had.

Not bothering with the rows of empty tables and chairs, Stiles sat on the floor in the stacks, leafing through The Count of Monte Cristo. He liked to think one day he would get through reading all of these, then perhaps he could become…accomplished in something.

It was on his list.

Stiles sat there allowing the smell of books to relax him when the sound of the library door made him look up. Walking in with two books in his hand, Stiles found himself stunned as he watched Derek walk over to old Bill with a…smile? Yes. Derek smiled as he returned the book to The Librarian and even enjoyed a few minutes of small talk before he turned and made his way over to the stacks, specifically to where Stiles was sitting. As he got closer and realized who the strange boy was on the floor, Derek slowed his pace but did not stop walking until he was mere inches from Stiles and towering over him.

Stiles pretended not to see him until there was a shadow cast over the pages of his book, which is when he looked up suddenly feigning surprise.

"Derek!" he exclaimed in shocked tone before looking around the library and back at him, "You can read?!"

Derek said nothing, didn't even crack a smile as Stiles began laughing into his book at his own joke.

"I'm sorry," Stiles said in between his huffs of laughter, "you literally walked into that one."

Ignoring his attempt at humor Derek asked, "Why aren't you sitting at the table like a normal person, Stiles?"

"What? Oh, I like to be as close as physically possible to my babies," Stiles said as he reached out to stroke the books on the shelf beside him obviously not worrying about how odd he looked on the floor of the library caressing rows of books.

"Well, that is not creepy at all."  
Apparently Derek was just full of surprises that night, especially when he calmly took a seat on the floor besides Stiles. Caught off guard by the unusual action, Stiles stared at Derek whose back was turned to him as he looked over the books on the shelf.

Stiles chose his next words carefully, "So you like the classics, huh?

"Ummmmhuh," Stiles took the noise Derek made as affirmation.

"Anything specific?"

Derek pulled a book one of the lower shelves and showed it to Stiles, George Orwell, 1984.

Stiles found himself reshaping the way he saw Derek in his mind, into a man who made evening trips to the library to read Orwell. Fascinating.

"Nice," Stiles said quietly.

"What about you?" Derek asked as he worked the thick book out of Stiles' hands to look at the cover, "Ah, I figured you'd be in the comic section or something like that."

"Hey! That was last week. Plus I've exhausted this library's resources when it comes to anything comic or game related."

"So real books are what, the last resort?"

Stiles made his face completely serious as he turned to look Derek, who was only three inches away in the eye, "They called to me, so I came."

He expected many reactions from Derek after such a ludicrous statement, punching or shoving for instance, but not chuckling. Stiles watched, wide-eyed as Derek's shoulders moved up and down in silent laughter.

"You, are ridiculous," Derek finally said as he made himself comfortable against the bookshelf and flipped to a page in the middle of the book ignoring Sties' look of incredulity.

Eventually Stiles also leaned against the shelf, pretending to read about Edmond's vengeful acts but instead thinking of how to respond Derek's sudden willingness to finally concede that he found Stiles at least somewhat amusing.

They sat for about half an hour in comfortable silence, "reading". Stiles was finally about to speak, deciding to comment of Derek's lack of proper winter wear when he suddenly shut his book, returned it to the shelf and stood, catching Stiles off guard.

"You're finished?"

Derek nodded, "I'm leaving."

"Oh," Stiles began to stand but Derek was already out the door by the time he got to his feet, waving to Bill on the way out and leaving the troubled teen alone once again at the library.

Stiles sat where Derek was seconds before, picked up 1984 from its place on the shelf and begun reading. He didn't realize how late it was getting until Bill came over to shoo him out of the library for closing.


	8. Things I Ask Myself

Stiles was sullenly pushing around the obviously overcooked vegetables on his lunch tray in school a few days after the impromptu book club session with Derek.

His mind had not stopped wandering back to that day on the library floor. Not in any obsessed sort of way, just curiously. Stiles had always been interested in Derek because supernatural creatures that were not supposed to exist and hung out around high schools tended to draw interest.

But it was different now. Stiles wanted to know more, get closer and find out what lay behind those intimidating muscles and that glare he'd obviously spent hours perfecting.

The table shook slightly and Stiles looked up to find Lydia and Boyd taking a seat. They made an odd pair, Stiles realized. But these days everyone, as few as the numbers were, who were in on the secret tended to stick together. Safety reasons, mostly.

Stiles weakly waved his fork at them, his less than excited behavior betraying the mood he was in.

Boyd looked at him, concern evident on the usually expressionless face of his, "How are you, Stiles?"

Stiles sighed, the pack had yet to let the counseling thing go and since they found out their words were softer and their actions nicer, Stiles hated it. He knew they were trying, but the behavior seemed forced and fake. Plus, if Isaac asked him to do any type of weird werewolf male bonding thing one more time Stiles would scream.

"Great!" He said, God he needed acting lessons, it had always been his bad lying that got him into trouble in the past.

Lydia said nothing, only narrowed her eyes at him, an action made Stiles squirm in his seat. He eventually looked away, Lydia always seemed to know too much. She had noticed the gradual change in the boy she had been going to school with for years, however they'd only recently added the title of "friends" to their relationship. Stiles' easy-going nature was disappearing and in its place were dark circles and constant melancholy brought on by nightmares and deep-rooted issues she knew nothing about, this concerned her.

"What about you Boyd? I hear you're trying out for the Lacrosse team!" Stiles' attempt to change the flow of the conversation was a bit obvious.

Boyd nodded, "Scott and Isaac have been bugging me about it."

"You should, man. It'd be gre-"

"Are you seeing anyone Stiles?" Lydia interrupted suddenly.

Stiles turned his attention to her, eyes wide it what could easily be taken as fear, "No, why do you ask?"

Lydia shrugged and stabbed a piece of broccoli with her fork, examining it she said "Just because, if you're free tomorrow night, a girlfriend of mine wants to have dinner with you," and with that she popped the vegetable into her mouth.

Stiles put down his fork and stared at Lydia, it was his turn to be skeptical, "And why would she want to go out with _me_?"

She finished chewing before she answered, "She just broke up with someone, I told her about you, and she's interested. So, are you?"

Stiles was unable to answer seeing as he was still caught off guard by the direction the initially innocent conversation had taken. During the entire exchange Boyd stayed silent with a slight frown on his face, he knew something.

"I know nothing about this chick, Lydia," he said shaking his head.

Huffing out in annoyance Lydia also put her fork down, "that is why you need to go out with her test the waters. Plus I already told her you said yes."

"What?!" Stiles loud voice rang out across the cafeteria causing a few people to look over.

Glaring at him Lydia picked up her tray, obviously preparing to leave "Her name is Susan. She's cute. You'll be meeting her tomorrow for the 8 o'clock showing at the movie theater next to the mall. Make sure you get her dinner after. It'll be fine." With those last words and a brilliant smile, Lydia Martin walked away, her heels clicking in tune with Stiles' quickly beating heart.

Classes were over and Stiles was driving home yet he still couldn't get rid of the sick feeling that had come over him after Lydia announced that she had set him up. Nerves, perhaps? No, the situation was simply wrong. But Stiles tried to shake it off because it was a date with a girl and any girl who was friends with Lydia was bound to be attractive.

This is what it took, Stiles convincing himself that his was what he wanted. A social life, just what the doctor ordered…literally.

He was pulling into his driveway when he noticed the familiar car parked halfway down the block. Interesting, what did Derek want? Not that Stiles wasn't…unhappy to see him, it was just that he never knew what to expect from a visit from Derek Hale. As he locked the car door, Stiles heard footsteps crunching on the ground behind him.

"What's up?" he said as he turned to face Derek.

"Stiles." Derek said as a way of greeting.

"So tell me, is tonight particularly good weather for skulking about in the dark? I personally thought it was a bit too chilly for that."

Derek seemed jittery as if he were waiting for something, "I need you to research something for me."

"Oh," Stiles was slightly taken aback by his request, he thought the library had brought them one step closer to something akin to friendship. Not wanting to seem too affected, Stiles motioned with his head for Derek to follow him into the house, which Derek did without a word.

On their way up the stairs, Stiles silently prayed that he remembered to pick up his underwear from the floor. He peeked in, attempting to stall the brooding man behind him but hurried his way in when Derek's close proximity caused shivers to go up his spine. He didn't know what it meant to react this way, but it bothered Stiles.

His room was relatively clean, save the small pile of dirty dishes that lay near the foot of his bed. The curtains beside his bed moved, signaling to the fact that Stiles had left his window open, making the room cold.

As he walked over to shut it Stiles asked, "So what was it you need me to research?"

With a sigh, Derek put down the action figure he had picked up from his desk and turned to face Stiles who was ignoring the way the Alpha seemed so comfortable in his room and the way that fact made his stomach flutter and threw his mind into a state of pleasant confusion.

"Salt," he said with a completely straight face as if Stiles was suppose d to know what the hell that meant.

"So you've finally taken up cooking as opposed to eating your meat raw? I must say Mr. Hale, I'm impressed." He walked over to his laptop which sat on the desk besides where Derek happened to be leaning. As he took a seat he did not see the smile Derek allowed to grace his face momentarily.

"No Stiles, more along the lines of the supernatural properties of salt. I came across some obscure passage in my uncle's files and I want to know more." Stiles nodded, he did not trust his voice not to waver due to the current proximity of the fit specimen just inches away from him. As he began tapping away at his keyboard, Derek suddenly change position and placed his hands on either side of Stiles, leaning over the increasingly nervous teen as he looked into the archives he'd steadily been gathering for such purposes. Derek watched, fascinated, Stiles had been busy.

"What program is this?"

Stiles jumped, he knew Derek was close, but his voice in his ear was almost too much for him to handle and his hands shook as he typed 'NaCl, Salt" into the search bar.

"I made it," Stiles mumbled under his breath. Werewolves couldn't actually heat heartbeats, right?

Derek nodded his head, obviously interested, "Hmmmm," the noise he made sent a strange sort of vibration down to Stiles' toes and he had to force himself not to lean closer into the other man's space.

Several things popped up, most of them having to do with ghosts and witches. Stiles hit print and then the only noise in the room was their light breathing and his old printer cranking out sheets of information. Stiles continued to look at the screen and wondered why Derek was still in the same position.

"I have a date tomorrow," Stiles suddenly blurted out.

There was silence, then Derek's breathing got heavier, "With who?"

Stile shrugged, maybe he should have left the window open, the room was so warm all of a sudden, "Some friend of Lydia's."

"Oh," Derek stood up straight and walked over to collect the information from the printer, "thanks for these," he said as he made his way over to the Stiles' door.

"No problem," but Derek was already gone, and part of Stiles felt that maybe that was the wrong thing to say, and he didn't know why.

Sorry these updates take so long, end of the semester woes.


	9. Contemplating

He just left. Stiles told him that he had a date and Derek just walked out. Did he even say goodbye? Derek shook his head as if to clear it as he climbed into the car and he could have sworn that he saw the curtain to Stiles' room move, but he wouldn't let himself look up to meet those naïve brown eyes because that was exactly what Stiles was to Derek, fragile and innocent despite the fact that he was currently trying to be rid of both of those defining characteristics.

Stiles seemed to find fault in them because he thought they made him weak, but Derek cherished them in a way. Maybe it was because he found it so impossible to be anything close to optimistic recently and Stiles always had a clever line to pick up a particularly dark day for the Alpha.

What could he say, Derek gripped the wheel tighter, he liked him. He was attractive, so smart too. Why hadn't anyone noticed before? Most likely because they knew the kid was on meds for his erratic behavior and God only knew what else.

As Derek drove back to his house, his mind wandered to his pack. He had told them to stay away from Stiles for a bit. After they all found out about the counseling, they wanted to bombard the teen with attention and questions, but Derek knew it wouldn't be appreciated.

And they had listened too, except for Isaac of course. He was sneaky and used those annoyingly effective puppy eyes to get away with most things. Ignoring Derek's warnings, Isaac continued to go out of his way to invite Stiles to meetings and various outings. It was his own way of showing he cared.

Derek drove faster, he got too close today, something he had been doing that a lot of recently, spotting Stiles driving and unconsciously following him. It was merely out of curiosity, at first. But his interest in the extracurricular activities of Stiles Stilinski grew and now images of his mouth and those eyes haunted him when he tried to get some shut-eye. Sure they were a welcome relief from the former images of his family burning alive, but torment is torment no matter how sweet.

Derek sped up, ignoring the speed limit posted on the side of the road. Maybe if he drove faster he could leave his desires in the dust.

The date did not go as badly as Stiles thought it would. Hours before he was due to meet this…Susan, he had called Scott to help him out. He was surprised, upon opening the door, to find Jackson there as well looking as if Scott has dragged him along if his grumpy face was anything to go by, but Stiles appreciated the extra assistance. He needed the basic kind of advice, where should they get dinner, what time they should call him just in case he needed an excuse to bail...

Scott and Jackson helped him pick out a casual enough outfit, black jeans, a dress shirt and nice shoes. Simple, classy. And he was feeling pretty ready too, until Jackson held Stiles by his shoulders and said three words, "Don't fuck up." Stiles nodded a quick okay hoping he didn't look too shocked by the sudden contact and couldn't help but wonder if Lydia was the one who had sent that little message along.

Stiles found Susan pretty, and smart, but he just couldn't bring himself to be interested even when she politely laughed at his awkward attempts at humor. It was nearing the end of his date and Stiles was drove up to the front of her house. It was nice, the conversation was casual and Stiles was no longer sweating through his layers out of nervousness.

He killed the engine and turned to Susan with a smile, "I had a great ti-," but his words were cut off by the crash of her lips against his. The sudden kiss caught Stiles completely off guard as he struggled to stay upright in his seat. He squeezed his eyes shut and kissed back ignoring the uncomfortable feel of his tongue on hers, mainly because it would have seemed impolite to push her away.

After a few seconds, Susan pulled back. Her cheeks red with embarrassment and a smile on her face, "Good night, Stiles," she said before slipping out of the car. Stiles managed to smile back and watched as she made her way to her front door.

He waved goodbye as he drove away from that house, knowing that he probably would not be returning. Susan was nice, and Lydia would probably kill him but Stiles simply wasn't interested. He blamed it on his crush on Lydia at first before suddenly realizing that he was long over that particular phase in his life.

His interest in her stopped being legitimate and became more like a hobby many months ago. However Stiles would not utter the name that had replaced Lydia's in his dreams and he could not say when they had begun.

Stiles drove on, lost in thought, Susan had already left his mind.

"He's pacing again," Erica said quietly. Everyone in the kitchen grew silent as they listened to the footsteps creaking on the floorboards of the next room.

Boyd shook his head, "I don't know what his deal is lately."

The pack was aware of Derek's slight shift in behavior, he was not as focused and more irritable than usual if that were even possible. They were at his house that night for the not-so-official weekly meeting, except it seemed as if Derek had forgotten about it. So they all just sat in comfortable silence in the living room and listened as Derek wore a hole through the rug in the next room.

Scott sighed and stood, "Whatever, if there's no meeting I have to go. I promised Stiles I'd come over after his date." Upon the mention of Stiles' name the creaking stopped. Everyone turned to the door expectant and a little afraid, it was never any fun dealing with the Alpha when he was in one of his moods.

The door opened slowly and the pack came face to face with an disgruntled Alpha, he stared at them for a full minute before speaking, "What are you doing here?"

"Um, we thought there was a meeting, but I guess we were wrong so I'm heading out?" Scott said the last part like a question, convinced that his words may set Derek off.

Derek nodded stiffly, his face full of some emotion none of them dared to place. With a final wave goodbye and a sorry smile at the friends he was leaving behind to deal with Derek, Scott left.

Without so much as a glance in their direction, Derek made his way upstairs, ready to welcome the sleep he hoped would take him away from the sinful playground his mind had seemed to become. He punched a few dents in the wall on his way up startling the weary teens downstairs. Only Isaac lived in the old house with Derek, after his father was killed he did not wish to return to the place that held nothing but painful memories. Erica and Boyd stayed over during the full moon which was a mere five days away and it seemed as if it was more difficult than usual for Derek to relax.

Throwing himself down on the bed, Derek tried not to think about Stiles or of Stiles kissing some girl. He needed to consider the threats to his pack and find a safe place for them to turn. The weight of his role as Alpha always felt heavier during this time and Derek could not help but think of how much easier things would be if he had someone by his side to help with such things. As a result, his thoughts managed to find itself on Stiles Stilinski yet again. Kicking off his shoes, Derek closed his eyes and hoped that no desires would creep their way into his dreams tonight.


	10. Whims That Come With the Moon

It was Friday and the full moon was tomorrow. Stiles sat in his kitchen waiting for the pasta to boil as he wondered how the baby wolves, as he liked to call them, were preparing for it. Scott had told him that everything was out of wack the closer it came, hormones and emotions all over the place.

Stiles grabbed the sausage and tomatoes and began to cut, he'd told Isaac that he would bring some food over since he was tired of ordering the take-out he was forced to eat on a near constant basis since moving in with Derek. Stiles laughed to himself, he guessed Derek was not the cooking type but he was still responsible for Isaac. He wasn't exactly sure if it was okay to show up at the Hale house, after all he hadn't seen Derek for days, but he did make a promise.

Stiles poured in the sauce along with the rest of the ingredients before pouring it all into a large bowl. It was six o'clock and Stiles decided to drive the food over before it got too cold and not at all because he wanted to see if Derek was home.

"Aren't you going to order dinner?" Derek asked Isaac as he spread the map of the town out on the kitchen table.

Derek was becoming more anxious to find a safe place for the pack to change tomorrow night and time was running out. Jackson and Lydia were on the couch in the living room watching television and Derek had no time recently to wonder why the mysterious case of the girl immune to the bite had become so comfortable in his house. Erica, Boyd and Scott were elsewhere, perhaps in the front yard, but they all seemed to gravitate towards Derek during this time of the month.

Isaac nodded distracted by the books Derek had asked him to look through, "No need, Stiles is bringing some over."

Derek looked up quickly, startling Isaac in the process, "Stiles? And why would he be bringing you food?"

Isaac eyes went wide, "Because I asked him to?"

Derek sighed and stood up, he liked Isaac and knew it was his job to protect him but the boy could be troublesome, "Isaac, I told you not to bother him."

Isaac picked at his nails and refused to look at Derek, "I know," he said quietly, "but I'm tired of pizza and Stiles wanted to hang out so I figured it was a win-win situation!" With that he shot a grin that Derek that was not returned.

"Should I tell him not to come?" he asked, his smile dropped and was suddenly replaced with those puppy-eyes of his.

Derek shook his head, "No, it's fine," he wasn't expecting Stiles to show up in his house after he'd gone out of his way to avoid him for days now. His dreams were becoming more …aggressive with each passing day and Derek blamed it on the wolf, eager to escape now that the full moon was near.

Last night's featured a very willing Stiles and handcuffs.

Derek tried to draw his thoughts from such things and went back to looking at the map. After twenty minutes of crossing things out and answering Isaacs questions about the history of werewolves, no doubt designed to get back on Derek's good side, there was a knock at the door which Isaac promptly ran to go answer.

Derek did not follow but he did listen as Isaac greeted Stiles followed by Stiles being chastised by Lydia for something or the other, no doubt about his choice in clothes or his tardiness.

Isaac re-entered the kitchen followed by Stiles who was carrying a bowl almost as big as he was and of course followed by the rest of Derek's unruly brood.

"Oh, hey!" Stiles stopped just inside the door and watched as Derek rolled up the map that took up most of the table. Afraid to speak, Derek simply nodded his head in Stiles' direction and moved to put the map back in the cabinet, turning his back on Stiles and everyone else as they pushed their way into the room.

It felt so _right_, Stiles being here with him and his pack.

"Let me take that off your hands, you must be tired," Jackson said with a grin as he grabbed the heavy bowl of pasta out of Stiles' hand.

Lydia smiled fondly at Jackson before turning to Stiles, with a laugh she asked "What are you, momma-Stiles?"

Dragging his eyes off of Derek's back he smiled, "Well the food is specifically for Isaac, but I may have gone a little overboard so there's plenty for everyone." At this Jackson began tearing the foil off the top of the bowl, "except Jackson, there's enough for everyone except him."

Lydia laughed and smacked Stiles playfully on the arm before grabbing him and walking towards the table.

"Thanks Stiles, Derek told me not to bother you but I knew you wouldn't mind." Stiles glanced briefly at Derek who had taken his usual I'm-too-cool-for-you pose against the counter, arms crossed and face expressionless. And that was all it took for his heart to start racing.

"Not a bother at all buddy, I couldn't very well leave you here to become a victim of malnourishment could I?"

Everyone chuckled at that and Isaac filled up a plate with the pasta and handed it to Derek who said, "I think malnourished is a bit dramatic, Stiles."

Stiles smiled at that but didn't trust himself to speak, honestly since when did he get all hot and bothered just by being in the same room as this guy. Oh right, since last week.

Stiles stood back and watched as everyone took the first bite, "It's a masterpiece is it not my lovelies? No need to praise me, the satisfied looks on your faces is enough."

"It's delicious," Isaac said mouth full, Erica threw a balled-up napkin in his direction to remind him of his manners which accidently hit Jackson who growled at her which resulted in Lydia hitting him with her fork.

This entire exchange was observed by Derek who had yet to take a bite of his food and instead chose to stare at Stiles. He looked confused, if not a little unsure of himself as he stood in a warm kitchen with his bickering pack and plate of food cooked by Stiles. Whose place in all this he still didn't understand.

Stiles looked up and caught Derek's eye, instead of looking away he offered a tentative smile and said, "You don't like it?"

Startled, Derek looked down as if he was just seeing the plate of food, "No that's not it, you didn't have to go through so much trouble." He wasn't technically a part of the pack as far Derek was concerned. Humans associating with werewolves had long been a grey area in werewolf history and Derek could not help but feel guilty at the amount of work Stiles did on their behalf.

Stiles' smile faltered a bit and he looked down at his hands picking at something Derek couldn't see, "It was no problem."

"Yeah Stiles loves cooking," Scott insisted as he attempted to steal more food of Boyd's plate.

Derek nodded and Stiles smiled gratefully at Scott before the kitchen fell into a comfortable silence of eating.

Stiles watched contentedly as they ate but was discomforted at the fact that it didn't seem as if Derek wanted him here. His assumptions about the progress of their relationship were obviously all one-sided. He looked around the kitchen and wondered how he could take his leave as elegantly and with little as notice as possible for he had no clue what the wolves…and Lydia had planned for this full-moon eve.  
Suddenly bringing his hands together into a loud clap Stiles grinned and said, "So I'm gonna go," real smooth Stiles, that would give Angel a run for his money.

His announcement was met with frowns and a general look of alarm from Derek who had been silently running over scenarios in his head for keeping Stiles longer.

"But you just got here," Lydia said, her face pulled in confusion at Stiles sudden wish to leave, "You should stay!" This drew nods from around the table, leave it up to Lydia Martin to give out such invitations despite this not being her house.

Stiles glanced at Derek nervously, this had not gone as planned. Not that he had come here with any concrete plan but he did have the intention of getting some one-on-one time with the Boss of the House. Nothing sexual of course, though he would not have objected to that either, just chatting about the weather or books.

Derek put his plate down on the counter, "Stiles," he said in a voice commanding enough to end the chatter of his pack who was busy trying to convince Stiles to stay longer.

Stiles turned to face him, eyes only slightly wider and heartbeat quick, but not nearly as erratic as that time he thought it would be fun to mix Starbucks with caffeine pills.

"Okay, okay I'm going," Stiles raised his hand defensively and made moves to pick up his bag but Derek shook his head.

"No, that's not what I-" he sighed and stopped.

Had his behavior towards Stiles always been one of such hostility to the point where he immediately assumed that Derek wanted him gone? Derek felt a prick of regret about that. The human was an asset to the pack so he should be treated as one. Derek told himself all this as if he didn't actually just want Stiles close enough to touch. His hair had grown longer these past months giving Stiles a more mature look and Derek would be lying if he said he didn't want to run his hands through it.

Stiles was frozen between picking up his bag and standing back up when Derek said, "I need you upstairs."

"What does _that_ mean," Erica broke the silence that resulted from Derek's poor word choice.

He glared at her, "Research, I found a passage about the salt and I want to cross-reference it with whatever you got. Maybe we can finally get some answers." With that Derek turned his back and left the room obviously meaning that Stiles should follow him, right?

Stiles looked to the group huddled around the table, Boyd and Erica were busy suppressing laughter, they obviously knew something he didn't meanwhile Lydia had her eyes narrowed at Derek's retreating figure as if she were trying to solve a puzzle.

With a shrug Stiles said "Be right back, I guess," and followed Derek out and up some stairs.

He had never been past the kitchen and took note of the way the stairs creaked under foot as if they were about to give way, but Derek walked up confidently so Stiles followed without worries.

Derek's room was the first door on the left, and Stiles hesitated before walking in. Was this okay, it should be since Derek tended to just stroll into his room as if he lived there starting from that very first day. With that in mind Stiles walked in with a lot more confidence than he was actually feeling at the moment.

There were scorch marks on the walls, something Stiles tried his hardest not to look at so instead he moved his eyes to the lone picture on the dresser which was the only piece of furniture besides the large bed in the corner of the room. It was a photo of his family, with a young, un-burdened Derek and Laura in the middle of a happy group of older people. Stiles had never seen Derek smile so wide.

"Um, I don't have any chairs," Derek gestured to the bed awkwardly as he went to the dresser to grab a book that lay there. The book was bound in dark blue cloth which was singed and was stuffed with paper, hand-written notes it seemed. Derek had been busy.

Stiles nodded and took a seat on the edge of the bed, the quilt was some hideous plaid but it was soft to the touch. Derek took a seat beside him, making sure that there was a few inches of space between them although his inner-wolf was pushing him to move closer and see if Stiles' skin was as soft as it looked and test just how easily those lips of his would give way beneath his own.

He handed the book to Stiles gruffly, not saying a word as Stiles brought his feet up to sit cross-legged on the bed, successfully allowing the two to touch. Stiles continued to flip to the pages ignoring his internal freak out and the way Derek suddenly became tense beside him.

"This is basically what I found online," Stiles said peering down at Derek's scratchy hand writing, "But whatever you found in this book seems to be more useful, it's more on the defensive purposes of salt."

"Ah," Derek said softly. At the moment he was more worried about why he thought it was a good idea to invite Stiles into his room, allow him further into the secrets that he had spent so long building. He hadn't allowed any of his betas into his room yet.

Stiles turned on the bed to look at Derek, he wanted a good look at him for once and today he wasn't feeling scared, on the contrary, if his heartbeat and the butterflies in his stomach was anything to go by he was eager.

Derek did not return the look but instead stared stubbornly at the book Stiles still held. He knew he was watching of course, but Derek was too afraid of what would happen if he met that gaze with his own desperate one.

Stiles tilted his head, "Derek," he said softly.

Derek breathed out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, there was so much in that one word. So many questions, so much _want_.

"Look at me, please."

Derek steeled himself and looked up, it was the worst thing he could do. He'd always been powerless against those eyes, long before he was willing to admit it to himself.

Stiles was not sure what was controlling him at this point, maybe he had read the signs wrongs, perhaps this was the opposite of what Derek wanted but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. He needed to find out for himself.

Placing a hand on Derek's knee, Stiles leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

Derek moved into that kiss while trying to control whatever part of him was saying push Stiles onto the bed. Then he caught himself and pulled back slowly. They were both breathing heavily, unsure of what the next move should be or if there should even _be_ a next move.

But Derek was already battling the surge of self-loathing that seemed to be ever present in his gut. He didn't deserve this taste of happiness that he'd all of a sudden found on the lips of Stiles Stilinski, not a man like him.

Derek stood up, rubbing his face and the taste of him off his mouth. He said nothing, only turned his back to the boy on his bed and continued to take deep breathes, willing himself to control the situation that had so suddenly spun away from him. Control, it was what he needed to have as the Alpha and it wasn't something he would give up with ease.

"I'm….I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted," Stiles said quietly. He was so wrong about that but Derek couldn't wrestle those words from his throat.

"I just wanted to do that, kiss you I mean, for a while so," Stiles trailed off.

"But I understand, if you don't…I'll just leave," Stiles said. He got up to put the book back on the dresser and before he knew it Derek was right behind him. Stiles met his eyes in the mirror, they were dark, conflicted and filled with unsaid things that Derek seemed to be willing him to understand.

Unfortunately, Stiles was not a mind reader.

He could feel the warmth on his back and took all of his will power not to lean back into it.

"I'm sorry," Stiles said again but those words were met with a low…growl? Did Derek just _growl_ at him?

Derek moved forward, they were touching now, front to back, and took Stiles' hands in his pressing them on the either sides of the dresser while knotting their fingers together.

"How do you know you want this?" Derek asked, his voice barely above a whisper in Stiles' ear as he maintained the eye contact in the mirror.

Stiles tried to control the erection he appeared to sprouting until Derek pressed his own right behind him. Stiles was suddenly finding it difficult to string words together, "Do you? Want this, I mean?"

Derek moved in and kissed Stiles' neck, a sensitive area he didn't even know he had until this moment.

"I guess that means yes?" Stiles asked breathlessly and moved back into Derek.

Derek said nothing only stared moving his hips in a circular motion behind him as Stiles broke eye contact, twisting his neck to catch him in another kiss.

And that was when they heard the footsteps, loud and quick coming up the stairs. With a few quick knocks Scott and Lydia busted into the room only to find a very red-face Derek and Stiles moving apart.

There was awkward silence as Derek glared at the newcomers and Lydia stared accusingly at Stiles.

"What are you guys _doing_," Scott asked in a choked voice.

"There was a reason the door was closed," Derek snapped.

"Nothing! No things were getting done, absolutely not," Stiles said quickly, obviously flustered.

"You were _kissing_," Lydia said slowly shifting her glare to Derek as if she blamed him for what she and Scott had just walked in on.

"Right, so I'm leaving," Stiles said. He couldn't meet anyone's eye at this point and settled for shuffling sideways out the door, "Derek, it was nice, um…bye."

And with that Stiles nearly ran out of the house leaving a very baffled Alpha and best friend behind and not bothering to say goodbye to the rest of the pack while he hurried to his car.

Lydia turned to Derek, "Something you want to share with the group?"


	11. Setting Things Straightso to speak

**I know it took super long to update, but I was out of the country and this site was banned… **

"Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod .GOD," needless to say, Stiles was currently freaking over what he was considering to be his most recent fuck up.

He was pulling into the driveway after going over the speed limit in an attempt to get as far away from Derek and the entire situation he found himself in as quickly as possible.

Kissing Derek, what was he actually thinking. But Derek kissed him back. That must mean something, right?

No, he had no right doing such a thing and now he would pay for it. And Lydia caught them, and so did Scott. Oh God, what was he going to do about Scott? After all those years spent with only Lydia to occupy his mind these new feelings towards Derek were completely unfamiliar.

It was during this steady stream of panicky thoughts that Stiles considered all of the possible ramifications of his ridiculous actions. One of them being telling his dad. It was no secret that their relationship had been strained lately, because of this, Stiles was determined to keep as few secrets from his father as possible.

Stiles closed the door shut behind him with a light click. The last thing he wanted was for his inner turmoil to get the best of him and alert his father to his presence. Out of all the times Stiles wanted his dad to be home early, now was not one of those times, he had way too many issues to sort through.

Stiles began what had become a ritual of sneaking upstairs and cringed at the noise the fifth step made. He glared down at the offensive step and shushed it, but it was apparently too late. His dad appeared at the top of the staircase, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Stiles?"

"Hey dad, sorry about the noise, go back to sleep!"

"It's not a problem, where were you?"

Stiles opened his mouth to answer with a lie, it came so naturally now, but stopped himself.

"I was with Scott," he began, the sheriff nodded his head and made a move as if to go back to his room, "and with Derek."

Stiles' father paused halfway through his second yawn and closed his mouth with an audible snap. He stared at Stiles, a frown replacing his previously sleepy expression.

"Derek Hale?" he asked.

Stiles swallowed and looked down, suddenly unable to meet his father's eyes.

He heard it when his father took several steps down to meet him on the staircase.

"And may I inquire as to why you were with Derek Hale?"

Stiles looked up, "and with Scott!" Despite this the sheriff did not look the slightest bit relaxed

"What the hell were you doing with Hale? Need I remind you about his less than pristine background when it comes to the law in this town?"

Sighing Stiles said, "Look dad, he wasn't even charged. And I've actually been hanging around him a lot recently."

The sheriff grew silent at that, obviously unable to handle the new information that his son had been hanging around a man who was as good as a criminal in his mind.

"Stiles," he sighed and put a hand on the banister as if to steady himself, "why in the hell have you been hanging out with Derek Hale?"

"We're friends, dad," Stiles' voice was quiet, "He helps Isaac out with things since his dad died and we…hang out."

"Hang out? Is there something you're not telling me, Stiles?"

Stiles considered for a moment, spilling to his father the supernatural secrets that consumed him with every step, or maybe even his counseling sessions that he'd been so careful to hide. But it wasn't time for that yet, so he went with a different approach.

"I like him."

"You like who?"

"Derek Hale."

Silence then a slow, "right," came from his dad.

"So this was a fun conversation! I think I'm going to head up to bed now dad."

Stiles made an attempt to move past his father on the staircase, but was halted by a hand on his shoulder.

"We're discussing this in the morning, Stiles," he said as he allowed his son to move past him on the staircase.

His father sounded tired, and not just because of the late hour. From an older generation, Sheriff Stilinski was surprisingly open-minded about certain things such as homosexuality. He found it foolish to waste his breath arguing either way, if you loved someone you loved them. End of discussion.

When he made it to the room, Stiles hesitated before opening the door. On more than one occasion had he found Derek comfortably sitting on his bed or chair with no invitation. Not that he minded or anything, it was just that tonight was not the night for more surprises.

Stiles pushed open the door with a type of resolved force and sighed a breath of relief when he found his room empty.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket to check for messages failed when Stiles realized it was dead. Charging it meant there would be phone calls and questions so instead Stiles placed the offensive item on his desk before flinging himself onto his bed. Sleep was what he needed now, he'd contemplate the sudden complicated mess that was his life when the sun was in his sky.

_More to come! Working on the next chapter right now!_


	12. Loosely Connected Occurrences

Isaac winced with every creak of the floorboard.

It had been two days since The Kiss, and the entire pack was determined to stay out of sight of their Alpha's murderous gaze. Scott, as usual, seemed to have little sense of self-preservation. This was obvious due to his current presence besides Isaac on the old couch in Derek's living room.

Scott sat there, his attempts at reading a book for English class failing as he continued to check the notifications coming from his phone. Each time he hoped it would be a returned call from Stiles, but it was just Lydia insisting that he convince Derek to spill the secrets of his budding relationship with their mutual friend.

"How long-," Isaac began his question in a whisper but suddenly paused when he thought he heard a door close, after a few moments he continued.

"How long do you think they've been a thing?"

Scott balked at the assumption, "They are _not_ a thing, Isaac. Don't even say that."

"You told me they were making out!"

"I did not! I said-," he stopped short and looked up as Derek walked in. Scott quickly looked back down at his book while waiting for a reaction from Derek, but there was nothing. He simply grabbed his leather jacket from the rack on the wall and walked out.

Both of the boys waited until the sound of Derek's engine faded before they dared to speak about the incident again.

Letting out a held breathe, Scott continued, "What I said was they moved apart from what looked like kissing. I didn't actually see it."

"Whatever, they're into each other, it's about time they give in and stop shoving all that sexual tension in our faces."

Scott shrugged, "I guess," then sent Stiles another text.

It read, 'Let's talk."

Derek tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he speed out onto the highway. He had let it go too far, that much was obvious now. Stiles ran out and looking at the way no one had spoken to him in the past couple of days, he did not want to be found.

Biting his lower lip in frustration, Derek took a hard left and made his way further into the town. He decided at that moment that he would end whatever is was he seemed to have going with Stiles. It was ridiculous, the way he was acting, as if he hadn't learned his lesson from the disaster his last relationship had been.

The car zoomed passed the high school and with a start, Derek realized where he was heading. Walking up to Stiles' front door was the exact opposite of what needed to happen right now, so instead, Derek turned around and headed to one of the few places he felt calm in this town, the library.

The conversation with his father went as well as could be expected under the circumstances. As Stiles you took a seat on the uncomfortable yet familiar library floor, he thought back to yesterday morning.

"If I asked you to stay away from this guy, would you?" his father asked as he poured a second cup of coffee. It didn't look as if he'd gotten any sleep.

Stiles ran a hand through his hair, it needed a trim, "Dad, I'd rather you not ask me to do that. He's not a bad guy! He's just gruff."

His insistence did not seem to be working and an unpleasant look passed over his father's face.

"All those times you come home with bruises, was that him?" the sheriff's voice had taken on a low, dangerous tone. This was so not the direction Stiles wanted this talk to go.

"No! God dad, no. Why would you even say that?"

He studied his son's face for a moment before leaning back against the sink as if satisfied with what he saw there.

"I've been wondering what's been going on with you these past few months. I'm worried."

Stiles debated at that moment whether he should tell his father about the counseling then decided not too out of consideration for his sanity. The last thing Sheriff Stilinski needed at that moment was more shocking news that came in the form of Stiles' life.

"Don't be dad, I'm handling things."

His father nodded and turned to put his mug in the sink, "I need to head to work now. I want to meet this guy, Stiles."

Stiles looked up with wide eyes, "What? Dad you've already met him!"

The sheriff shook his head in disbelief, "He was in handcuffs then, bring him by next week," he leaned over to give Stiles a hug, "be home by 6 tonight, we'll have dinner."

Stiles nodded, now consumed with a whole new problem to deal with. It appeared that he had led his father to believe they were actually a couple when it was just wishful thinking on Stiles'part.

After that revealing little discussion, Stiles had decided to ignore everyone. Not in any particularly mean way, he just needed to have his thoughts to himself for a bit.

However, Stiles felt like he should have expected this unexpected meeting with Derek. Such was the nature of their relationship, a dangerous series of loosely connected occurrences that had pushed them together.

On one side, there was the heavy weight champ for all things dark and moody to the point where even the frown that constantly graced his face was attractive. On the other we had the teen who despite all that life had deemed necessary to put him through, he continued to showcase nauseating optimism in the face of the worse possible situation.

It was at the library. Although Stiles found the use of that particular public facility sorely outdated in the face of more modern alternatives, he once again found himself sitting in the stacks after a particularly unpleasant day.

That's where Derek found him. Two days after the kiss.

Two days that were made up of unanswered phone calls and texts. Stiles had to admit that it probably wasn't the best way to handle things, but he had managed to convince himself that he was simply rediscovering who he was.

He went about this by watching a disgusting amount of John Hughes films and trying to find his answers in the teenage-angst that Molly Ringwald so accurately portrayed.

It was also the reason why Derek found Stiles nose-deep in Chicken Soup for the Soul, a book where after a few chapters his issues always paled in comparison.

At first, Stiles didn't notice the sudden hush that came over the unusually full library, and by full he meant about a dozen people. The residents of Beacon Hills were always fascinated by the Hales, and Derek's sudden appearance (with the son of the town's Sheriff no less) would certainly cause a stir.

It wasn't until the book was being plucked from his hands that he bothered to look up, straight into the face of the man he'd been actively hiding from for two days.

"Oh," Stiles began speaking immediately, hoping the too-loud sound of his voice would cover up the sudden increase in heart rate, "As always, Derek I was not expecting you, but then again I never am."

Derek frowned, unsure if that was meant to be an insult or a casual observation, it was difficult to tell sometimes with this one.

"Should I…go?"

Alarmed, Stiles shook his head, "No!" too loud, Stiles thought, much too loud, "No, I was just pointing out…never mind. Do you want to sit? Or should I stand?"

A pause and then a slow "No," was all that came from Derek before the pair continued to watch each other.

Derek shoved his hands in his pockets, and rocked back and forth slightly, "how are you?"

Stiles observed this uncharacteristic behavior while trying to find the words to improve this situation, he began by standing up.

"I'm fine! Great actually! How are you?" This was the least natural conversation either of the men had ever had and they both knew it.

Meanwhile, Derek's anxiety was building. He knew he should have walked out of that place the moment he spotted Stiles sitting on the floor, incidentally that had been the first place Derek looked upon walking in.

"Fine, do you, um, mind if we talk somewhere else?" Derek asked while looking nervously around the library.

Stiles did mind, but he wasn't going to say it. Leaving the watchful eye of the librarian meant that anything could happen between them and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

"Of course, let me just put these back."

Derek nodded and watched silently as Stiles fumbled with the pile of books he'd managed to acquire in his short time at the library. After placing them on a nearby cart for re-shelving, he faced Derek whose expression read of pure seriousness. Seeing that look made Stiles' mouth go dry, no good news ever came with that face.

"Alright, let's go!"

Derek noticed the false cheer forcefully injected into Stiles' words, but he ignored it and choose to focus on the difficult task at hand as he ushered Stiles out of the library.


	13. Reconciliation

_Final Chapter: Thanks so much for reading, this will be the last chapter of Distance…I think as the show goes on I'll be writing a second part._

"I think we should stop this before we both get hurt," The words rushed off Derek's tongue the moment they faced each other outside the library. Stiles stared open-mouthed, he thought that this was what he wanted to hear, until he actually heard it. Also, was it him or did the ground suddenly disappear from beneath his feet?

"No," Stiles whispered.

Derek looked confused, "No?"

Shaking his head Stiles raised his voice and repeated himself, "No."

There was a long silence from Derek before spoke, "No?"

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Oh my God, is this what being in a cave feels like?"

Derek huffed out a bitter laugh, "You ran away Stiles. You ran away and then you turned off your phone. What did you expect me to think about that?"  
Desperate to come up with a good excuse he shrugged, "I was just pulling a classic 'Stiles'. Ignoring my problems until they go away," but what he had failed to take into consideration was Derek's feelings about the matter.

"So that's what I am then, a problem?"

Alarmed, Stiles stood there wishing he had a better filter, "That's not what I meant. I'm the problem, I got scared."

Derek nodded his head as he tried to come up with the right words. Putting both hands on his hips, Derek breathed deeply. This was a struggle for him, and one that had quite honestly blindsided him. How could he have not seen Stiles coming?

"Do you think you're the only one that's scared?" Derek's voice was low and so obviously filled with whatever pain he had been going through on his own, "I'm scared too. Do you think I know how to handle this? If I were strong enough I would ignore you, let you finish high school and get on with your life. But all I can ever think about is how anxious I get when I don't know where you are or," Derek stopped himself suddenly, as if he were afraid of what other secrets he might spill.

Suddenly Stiles felt selfish, did he really think that he was the only one having a hard time dealing with all of this? This was a lot more than Stiles had expected from Derek Hale and he had no clue what to do.

In the steadiest voice he could muster, he asked "Can you take me home?" And with that question he turned and walked over to Derek's car, climbing into the passenger's seat he tried desperately to hold back the tears.

Stiles didn't see the slight nod of Derek's head or the way he rubbed at his face aggressively as if to rid himself of the previous emotional overload. He didn't want to see it because every part of Stiles wanted to fling himself at Derek and kiss the frown off his face and hold him and tell him that they could figure this out.

But the mildly-depressed and self-destructive part of Stiles would not let him and he couldn't help but think that he was not worth all this trouble.

So he sat silently in the car, picking at his nails. It was a good minute before Derek hopped into the car beside him, stony-faced and silent. Both men kept their eyes stubbornly fixed on the road ahead and Derek ignored the way his gut twisted when he realized how easily he drove the route to Stiles' house. He also tried to ignore the irritating sound of Stiles nervous little habit, that is until the scent of blood suddenly filled the car.

Derek's hand shot out and grabbed one of Stiles', "Stop that, you're bleeding."

Stiles nodded and whispered an "Okay," but did not attempt to take his hand out of Derek's grip. Instead, he slowly laced their fingers together. Stiles smiled when Derek's thumb began rubbing circles on the back of his hand.

About five minutes later, Derek was pulling up in front of Stiles' house, neither of them moved from their position.

There were still so many unspoken things between them and no one knew where to start.

Derek turned in his seat and Stiles could feel the Alpha's eyes boring a hole in the side of his face. He ignored both that and the way his hands were beginning to sweat from the prolonged contact with Derek, but he refused to be the first to let go. On the contrary, Stiles tightened his grip and prayed Derek would not pull away.

Derek's left hand suddenly reached out and grabbed hold of Stiles' chin, forcing the teen to face him.

They looked at each other and was almost unaware of the way they drifted together until their lips touched and all that was left was barely restrained groping and heavy breathing. Stiles was fumbling with his seatbelt while simultaneously trying to keep his lips on Derek's when a knock on the window startled them both.

Derek jerked back, hitting his head on the window in the process, before he stared past Stiles in horror.

"What, who is -," Stiles' sentence was cut short when he turned to get a look for himself. Staring at them were Sheriff Stilinski and Scott, both had unpleasant looks of shock on their faces that no doubt matched whatever thoughts they were having about the current situation.

No words were exchanged for about 13 seconds during which our blossoming couple had successfully managed to pry themselves apart. Derek glared at Scott and refused to look at the Sheriff while Stiles was busy trying to decipher his fathers' current expression.

Could that be called an _accepting_ sort of pained look? Or more along the lines of disappointed.

"Out of the car," the Sheriff said sternly before turning his back and walking towards the house. Scott, who was holding several grocery bags in his arms, did not budge as Derek and Stiles sheepishly made their way out of the car.

"You know, Scott, it's considered impolite in most cultures to stare," Stiles mumbled as he brushed past his best friend.

"You never told me," Scott started speaking but shut his mouth suddenly. It was something to be left to discussion later on.

There was a clanging noise coming from the kitchen which the trio followed. Derek trailed a little behind the best friends and observed the way Scott comfortably made his way through the house. Stiles, on the other hand, was racking his brain trying to figure out how to deal with this. It seemed that he had chosen the most obvious way to come out to his father.

Upon entering the kitchen, Stiles' father turned around, greeting the three with a harsh look of displeasure. It seemed that the noise had been coming from his search for cups and mugs. Stiles glanced over to the counter top to see that the coffee was being made which meant that there were long conversations to be had which meant bad.

"Sit," was the only thing the Sheriff said. Stiles and Derek obeyed, taking seats as far away from one another at the kitchen table, Scott, however took up a kind of supportive position behind the Sheriff, arms crossed and face fixed in disapproval.

"Dad, you look upset," Stiles figured he may as well start, it felt like the best thing to do.

"Oh, do I? What the hell Stiles, you told me you two weren't speaking."

"Well, we spoke,"

"That was a lot more than speaking going on out there!" Scott interjected but stopped when the Sheriff fixed him with a particularly pointed look, "Sorry, I'll get the coffee."

The Sheriff took up his interrogation position, leaning against the counter, crossing of the arms, all very threating stuff.

He turned his attention to Derek, "So Mr. Hale, what exactly are your intentions for my son?"

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Intentions? What is this, a '90s sitcom?"

"Quiet, Stiles. So Derek?"

Until then, Derek's eyes had been very focused on the pattern of the table, "I have nothing but good…intentions for your son sir."

Scott was pouring coffee into the mugs the Sheriff had placed out earlier

"Good intentions? I know for a fact that you've hurt him before, Derek Hale. You don't exactly have a good reputation in this town."

"Dad, stop-,"

"No, Stiles you don't understand because you're distracted by whatever hormones are taking over your life right now."

"If you have a problem with me being gay, dad, just say it," Stiles said, his words quiet and heavy in the room.

His father's face took on a look of profound sadness, "You know that's not the problem I have here, Stiles. It's him I don't trust."

Derek chose this moment to speak up, for it seemed to him that the conversation was spinning away from them all. Soon, irreversible things would be said.

"I won't hurt him…anymore," his voice was soft and filled with regret. He knew that he was behind some of the pain in Stiles life recently, and he hated that.

"You better not. I'll be keeping an eye on you, Derek Hale."

At this, Stiles smiled a little and then turned his attention to his friend, "You can put the pot down now, Scott."

Scott jumped a little, he had been watching this whole exchange nervously while clutching the coffee pot tightly, "Huh? Oh right, sorry," he cleared his throat, "So is this all sorted then?"

"For now," the Sheriff grumbled. Stiles was all he had left ever since Claudia died, naturally he got worried.

Stiles noticed that Derek had barely moved for the entire conversation and despite the vaguely positive turn of events, he pitied how nervous his…guy-making-out-buddy, seemed. Honestly, did they really need to label what they were?

What Stiles failed to realize, however was that despite the momentary lack of speech Derek was a werewolf at the core, an Alpha no less, and he knew when to assert himself.

Reaching out, Derek grabbed one of Stiles' hands in his own and meeting the Sheriff's eyes said, "Nothing bad is going to happen to him, Mr. Stilinski." It was a bold promise, he knew that, but it was one that needed to be made. Plus if Stiles' father's expression was anything to go by he had said the right thing, this new chapter in Derek's life needed to start off the correct sort of way.

Stiles looked at Derek, too stunned to speak, he had never thought that the Alpha was one for such sweeping gestures of good will. Ignoring the immature giggling that was coming from Scott, the Sheriff eyed Derek a moment more before briskly walking over with an extended hand that Derek accepted with a grateful smile while Stiles remained fixed in his state of incredulity.

It was not until his father offered Derek coffee that he snapped out of it, "Okay," Stiles exclaimed, successfully speaking over the conversation that Scott had also managed to join, "As lovely as this all is, Derek has to go! He has …things to attend to."

"Actually," Derek began, but Stiles was already dragging him to the front door with their still-clasped hands. The Sheriff and Scott shook their heads but let them go.

"You're kicking me out?" Derek asked with the sort of face that would melt anyone's heart if they looked at it long enough.

But Stiles ignored the sorrow-filled eyes and answered, "Yes, I still need to talk to them. Plus I know I'll be seeing you tomorrow." He ended that sentence with a goofy grin, the kind he couldn't control in the presence of such a pleasant situation.

Derek smiled, "Yeah, you will," he whispered as he leaned into Stiles' space and planting the sweetest of kisses on his boyfriends lips. They stood like that for a while on the front porch, leaning against the door. sharing kisses and mumbling words of affection that only they knew the true meaning of.


End file.
